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Press Release

Grassroots Action Stops Earmarks

There's good news and bad news in this lame duck session. The good news is that thanks to your phone calls and emails, GOP leaders are lining up behind earmark bans in both the House and the Senate. Just today, Sen. Mitch McConnell said "the people have spoken - and I'm listening" and that he will support an earmark moratorium.

Getting rid of earmarks is an important first step toward cutting the spending in Washington and it looks like we've met the first post-election challenge for the tea party movement. But our fight is far from over.

It's clear that grassroots action can make a big difference, even when the opposition is a group of lawmakers on the way out, desperate to pull out all the stops to enact their socialist agenda. Now that the liberals have been thrown out of power in Congress, the pressure is that much greater on Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi in these last weeks.

The Bush-era tax cuts are about to expire and taxes could shoot up for millions of Americans already struggling in the current economic downturn. The election was clear: Washington has a spending problem, not a fudning problem. Tax hikes would hurt the economy even further.

and tell Congress: No Lame Duck!

Unfortunately, getting rid tax cuts aren't the only thing on Pelosi's Big Government Wish-List before she exits the Speaker's office. She, and Harry Reid would still like to pass the cap and trade energy tax, slap the American taxpaeyrs with another "Stimulus" bailout, pile on more tax hikes to fund their socialist agenda, and allow the death tax to come back next year at 55%.

Tax hikes, bailouts, and more big government spending in the face of the recent election would amount to little more than a violation of the will of the people. "We the People" spoke with our votes and we said "We want less - lower taxes, less spending, less government."

Congress should stop the out-of-control spending, not try to raise taxes. One of the best places to start reigning in the spending is the bloated EPA budget. This agency's budget has grown exponentially more than any other government agency and should be first on the list for a serious spending diet.

and tell your lawmakers: No Lame Duck!

According to a Rasmussen poll, 65 percent of voters oppose a lame-duck session because it would trample on our founding documents, mute the voice of the people and disregard the final results of the November election. Now that the election is over, congressional leaders should act with the dignity their office demands and refuse to pass controversial legislation until the new Congress is sworn in next January.

Thank you for your ongoing vigilance on behalf of more freedom. Keep up the great work.

On behalf of FreedomWorks activists nationwide, I urge you to contact your representative and ask him or her to vote in the manner prescribed for each amendment below to the Department of the Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, H.R. 6147. As is always the case, FreedomWorks reserves the right to key vote any amendment brought to the floor for a vote.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently waived Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) requirement for Andeavor, one of the nation’s largest oil refineries. Andeavor’s exemption tolls a death knell for the RFS and its crony backers.

Welcome to FreedomWorks Foundation’s sixth regulatory review! Our Regulatory Action Center proudly updates you with our favorite tidbits from the swamp. We want to smash barriers between bureaucracy and the American people by delivering regulatory news straight to FreedomWorks activists. Check back in two Fridays for the next edition.

On behalf of our activist community, I urge you to contact your senators and ask them to support the Earmark Elimination Act, H.R. 5369, introduced by Reps. Jim Cooper (D-Tenn.) Ted Budd (R-N.C.), Ralph Norman (R-S.C.), and Kathleen Rice (D-N.Y.). The bill would make permanent the temporary moratorium on congressional earmarks put into effect in 2010 by creating a point of order against any provision within a bill that matches the definition of an earmark, and when raised would be stricken absent a two-thirds majority to override.